Box of Chocolates
by Court Jester 21
Summary: My take on what should happen in the finale. I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what the last two words of the episode are-here's what I came up with. Read it fast, it'll be out-dated by Sunday night! Contains spoilers for 4x22.


_I know, I know, I have about a million other stories in process, but this one was begging to be written. I had it ready to go, then edited it to fit in the scene that was released today._

_I have been agonizing over what the two words at the end will be. This is what I came up with...I hope you like it!_

_If I owned these guys, I'd probably be happier and sane. Instead, I've been a crazy person all week trying to figure out who she will choose. So, obviously, not mine. There's got to be less stress in owning them, right?_

Alicia stared out the windshield, watching the line painted on the side of the road as they buzzed by. She realized that this felt like a very long drive, trying to straighten out this mess with Peter's election. She should be thinking about Peter. Peter her husband. Peter, who might be the future governor. Peter, who she was travelling to Hawaii with next week to renew their wedding vows.

So why couldn't she stop thinking about Will?

She glanced over at Will guiltily. She couldn't conceal her shame in being so transparent. He noticed her glance and turned to look at her quizzically. Avoiding his gaze, Alicia looked away. She reclined the seat back and tried to relax.

The next thing she knew, Alicia was awakened by the car's interior lighting. Through her haze of sleep, she realized that Will had said they couldn't go in yet. Processing this, she watched Will. His expression was odd, foreign to her. Was he fighting as hard as she was to avoid those tempting thoughts?

"You broke up with Laura?" she asked, knowing the answer. Her voice was thick with sleep and her tired brain couldn't stop the question before it popped out.

Surprised, Will snapped his head toward her. "No," he answered quickly, "she with me."

"I'm sorry," Alicia responded.

"You're still friends?" Will asked, wondering where her question had come from.

Alicia let her shoulders shrug. "I don't know," she said. She paused a moment, wondering how much she should say. "I think she thinks I was getting between you two."

Will looked away. He had no answer for that. There wasn't a fathomable answer to that. He hoped the conversation would move on soon.

Alicia studied his reaction. This was awkward. Dangerous territory. But what the hell, they needed to clear the air. Maybe this was a good time. Without taking time to overanalyze it she spoke up. "That kiss opened up something between us again, didn't it?" she said, with her tone holding no sense of question. She drew in a deep breath as she planned her next words. "I don't know how to close it."

After a moment, Will said," I know," his face still turned away from her. She could tell he was contemplating. Part of her wanted to know what he thought and part of her didn't. She just wanted him to fix it. She wanted to drop this in his lap and have him take care of it. She had no energy for this anymore.

"But if we pursue it, it'll just be like last time," she said, not entirely sure if she was convincing him or herself. Maybe a little of both.

Will's expression ruffled at her words. "What was last time?" he asked, finally turning back to face her.

"I don't know," she said, raising her eyebrows in honesty. "But it'll be worse," she whispered, trying to hide the tears that were rising inside. "I'm with Peter," she told him, closing her eyes for a moment. "And I just-" she paused, drawing in a breath to find the right words. "I can't figure my way out of this one," she said, shaking her head at him helplessly.

His expression, the sadness in his eyes, drew her in. Before she knew it, she was leaning forward. Alicia felt as if she were moving in slow motion, but she knew that she wasn't. She knew this was all happening too fast to stop herself. She propelled herself toward Will at the same moment he moved toward her. Their lips crashed together and they used whatever leverage they had in their awkward positions to press into one another. Alicia grabbed Will by the elbow to bring herself even closer to him. She felt his hand slipping underneath her coat to grasp her waist.

To touch his lips again was heaven. Their last kiss had been angry, guilty, almost shameful. This time they were resigned to their passion. They'd tried to fight it and failed. This was giving in. It was what they had been dreaming about for weeks. She found a passion in kissing Will that she hadn't felt with Peter for years. She lost herself in his kiss, in his lips under hers, in his warm touch through her suit jacket. There was nothing but pleasure, filling the air around them in the small car.

After several minutes, they had to breathe but couldn't stand to be pulled apart. They rested their faces against one another, nuzzling noses as they caught their breath. "What do we do?" Alicia asked, her tone revealing her agony as she breathed in the familiar scent of him.

Will was unsure what the question meant. How do we stop doing this? Or did she mean to ask how they would make this work out between them. As he drew his usual indifferent card from his hand, he mentally shook his head at himself for his predictable behavior. "What do you want, Alicia?" His hand found hers, grasping it to comfort her. To let her know this was her choice. He would stand behind her decision.

"I don't know," she replied, shaking her head hopelessly at her situation. They stayed frozen together for several minutes. Will tried to come up with something brilliant to say. Something that would turn this around. Something to light their way through this darkness. Ideas were swirling in his head, but he lost the moment as he heard a knocking on the hood of the car. Instinctively, they pulled apart, looking up to see Diane standing before them.

Shit, Will thought to himself. He could read her expression as she recognized Alicia. Double shit.

He reached for the door handle, only to notice that Alicia was already out of the car. Being the first to exit, Diane attacked her first. "What are you thinking?" she said, grabbing Alicia by the elbow to bring her close enough that she didn't have to shout her thoughts out into the cold Chicago night. "We are here for your husband's campaign! Why would you do this here?" Alicia pulled out of Diane's grasp like a sullen teenager, but did not look up to meet her eyes. She looked down at the littered ground at her feet, ashamed and wishing that she could disappear.

She knew this wasn't her. This wasn't who she was, but tonight she just felt so out of control. As if the person she was had slipped away, and in her place stood this crazy passive person who didn't know what to do with herself.

Will walked up to them and Diane spun around to meet him. "And you told me this was over! This is ridiculous Will! How unprofessional can you get?" She was spitting her words out at him in anger, and he just met her gaze coldly.

Will opened his mouth to speak, calmly saying, "Diane, I know that you're pissed. I can apologize for poor judgment tonight, I'll admit to that. But I won't apologize for being in love with Alicia. Not to you and not to anyone."

Both women stared at him in shock, processing his words. Diane turned to Alicia, trying to judge her knowledge of this situation. Finding a face as shocked as her own, and seeing Alicia struggle for words, she discovered that Alicia hadn't known the depth of Will's feelings for her.

Alicia's mouth opened, but nothing came out. Tears welled in her confused eyes as Will's eyes told her that his words had been true. What could she say to that? And in front of Diane?

Just then, the guard called to them that they would be allowed to enter.

Diane sent a patronizing look at both Will and Alicia before walking into the building silently. Alicia followed, not sure how to respond to Will.

As they entered the courtroom, Alicia knew she had to focus on the case. Their case. Her case. Peter's case. She had to do her job, no matter what. She took her seat as first chair, and she noticed a shuffle beside her as Will moved to take the seat next to her, preventing Diane from sitting between them.

She kept her mind on the case the best she could. She listened to Patti's arguments. She objected when necessary. The judge ruled that witnesses be called to speak to these accusations and called a recess.

Alicia called Zach from the hallway, asking him to put on his suit and come down to testify. After ending the call, she glanced at her watch. 25 more minutes to go. She wasn't too excited to spend that time sitting tensely with Will and Diane. They needed to work on the case, yes, but she seriously doubted her ability to focus. She needed to think.

She rounded the corner, heading away from the courtroom, and sat down on a bench in the hallway. Where had this all gone wrong? She could blame Peter and his prostitutes. Before the scandal, she was the spouse that was unaware of her partner's indiscretions. Now she found the roles reversed.

But if she was truly honest with herself, which she had to be, she knew this dated back farther than the scandal. She had made a choice back in Georgetown, back when she was innocent, back when she thought she knew it all, when in fact she knew very little.

What if she had chosen Will 20 years ago? What if she'd allowed Peter to be Zach's father, but she'd chosen to share her life with Will?

Alicia rested her elbows on her knees and dug her fingernails into her scalp. There had to be a sensible solution. There just had to be. If she thought about it long enough, she would figure it out. She thought about everyone involved. Will. Peter. Zach. Grace. Owen. Veronica. Jackie. Diane. Cary. Kalinda. Still nothing. Each person had their own agenda, their own reason why she should make a certain decision.

Something inside her snapped as she realized that she should have her own agenda. All of these years, since that first positive pregnancy test, she had considered everyone else before herself. She had taken a backseat to the general consensus of her loved ones. Going back to work had brought out the real Alicia, but only professionally. Personally, she was still the sheltered political wife, doing what was best for everyone else.

Her kids would survive it. Whoever she didn't choose, Peter or Will, they would survive it. Owen, Veronica and Jackie would survive it. The firm would survive it. This was her life, as she'd told her mother. It was time to start living it for herself.

So who would make her happy? Would she be happiest living the life her conscience determined was the right path? Would she be happier exploring the depths of her bond with Will? If she did choose Will, would their passion fade with time?

Alicia remembered the look in Will's eyes when they were standing in the cold tonight with Diane. She remembered that same look on many occasions throughout the last four years. She remembered that look from back at Georgetown. No, her bond with Will was different that her bond with Peter. She had no reason to believe that a relationship with Will would turn out the same way that she and Peter had.

Boldly, Alicia stood. She paused a second and then walked confidently toward the courtroom. She pulled the door open to enter, looking around for Will, preferably without Diane, and heard a voice behind her.

"Mom?" Zach called, entering the building.

Alicia turned toward her son, "Zach, thanks for coming down here." She rested her arm around his shoulders in a half hug to show him her gratitude.

"Anything for Dad," he replied with a shrug.

Alicia froze a moment, unsure what she was doing, before she opened the door for them both and hesitantly entered the courtroom. She showed Zach where to sit and told him what to expect. The judge entered and Alicia took her seat beside Will. She tried to control her shaking hands and wandering thoughts.

When Zach was called to testify, it gave her something concrete to focus on. She could rely on her mothering instincts now to keep her on task. She stood close to him to ask her questions, trying to keep her tone familiar and keep him comfortable. She knew he was nervous but it really didn't show. If she didn't know him so well, she might not have seen it at all.

When Alicia walked back to their table and Patti stepped up to question Zach, Alicia only sat on the edge of her chair. She was prepared to jump up as soon as Patti said anything out of line. She couldn't let Patti abuse her son. As she listened to Patti's questions and Zach's responses, she was impressed with Zach's maturity. How had her baby boy grown up overnight? Of course, it hadn't been overnight, but it certainly seemed that way! She could barely believe she'd be sending him to college in a few short months.

Zach was practically an adult. At 18, he was ready to take off on his own life. His sister wasn't far behind. Sure, Zach would do anything for his dad, just like he'd do anything for her. He'd adjust as needed to changes in their family structure, and Grace could be persuaded to do the same. She'd raised good kids. She needed to have faith in them.

Patti's questions ended abruptly, without any need for an objection, and Zach stepped down. Alicia stopped him quietly as he was walking past and asked him to hang out in the hallway in case they needed him again. Zach just nodded and left the courtroom. She knew he'd rather play on his phone in the hall than sit in a nearly empty courtroom anyway.

Once he had exited, Alicia turned her attention back to the judge. She had to question the next witness. When Patti took her turn to cross examine and Alicia was seated beside Will once again, she strategically rested her hand on the table next to his. She noted Diane's attention on the witness stand, then brushed her hand against his, allowing her pinkie to briefly wander over the back of his hand. It was a gesture from their days together and Will recognized it immediately.

Will wore a look of surprise as his eyes met her questioning eyebrows. Even with her hair shading her face, he recognized that expression. His face expanded into his crooked smile, a confirmation of what she had asked silently, before they both turned their attention back to the court before them.

Hours later, exhausted and frustrated by their lack of progress in court, Will, Diane and Alicia left the building together. They hadn't spoken of what happened earlier at the car. They were going their separate ways for a few short hours, trying to salvage what they could of the case.

"Do you need a ride somewhere?" Diane asked Alicia, her tone not letting them forget what she had witnessed earlier.

"No, no, I'm calling a cab," Alicia said flatly, pulling out her phone to demonstrate. She half hoped that she wouldn't need the cab, that she and Will could have a few minutes together to debrief as he drove her home.

"Oh, ok, I'll wait with you then," Diane said, leaving no room for question.

Alicia put on her best political smile and dialed the cab company.

"Diane, don't worry about it. Why don't you head home?" Will said, stepping in to rescue Alicia.

"Will, I'm staying," Diane said, her tone light, but leaving no room for argument.

"Ok, then, we'll all stay," Will muttered, leaning up against the wall to wait. He didn't trust Diane with Alicia. He wasn't about to leave them alone together tonight.

It felt like the longest 15 minutes of Alicia's life. They all stood silently, breathing in the awkward air that swarmed between them. The tension was suffocating, and yet, there was no escape. Diane looked like she was reading emails on her phone, but she was looking up at the two of them more often than a parent chaperoning a co-ed slumber party.

Finally, the cab stopped in front of the building. Alicia nodded to them both and stepped into the cab. Will didn't give Diane so much as a glance as he walked to his car and climbed inside. Diane crossed the street to her car. As she closed the door to the car, glad to be out of the cold wind, she flipped through her phone and pressed send.

"Peter, I need a minute," Diane said stiffly.

***  
Alicia sat in the back of the cab, finally feeling alone enough to revel in the recent events. She dug for her phone and sent Will a text that said, "I'm free if you want to talk."

Seconds later, her phone vibrated in her hand, and she smiled as she lifted it to her ear. "Hello," she said happily. She was exhausted, but not giddy. Just happy.

"Hi," Will replied.

"Crazy night, huh?" Alicia dropped her head against the back of the seat and was thankful not to be driving herself home right now.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about all that. I'll talk to Diane."

"I'm sure she'll be talking to us soon enough," Alicia retorted sarcastically.

"But she needs to understand some things," Will continued. "And I guess I need to understand some things."

"Don't we all?" Alicia quipped, struggling to find the right words.

"So that- back in the courtroom, that was-" Will trailed off, not sure how to characterize what had happened.

"That was a yes," she said quietly, afraid of his response.

"I thought so," he said proudly. Alicia could hear his smile coming through the connection. "So, for the record, without an audience this time. I love you, Alicia. I am in love with you. I have been for a long time."

Silence engulfed the line between them as his words soaked in. Alicia closed her eyes and inhaled. "I love you too," she said, still quiet, "and I'm sorry about everything it took for us to get here."

"It is what it is," he replied to assuage her guilt. "I wish you were here," he said sadly.

"Me too. It seems weird to do this on the phone."

"I know," he said. "Where are you going?"

"Campaign office, to update everyone." Her answer was sad, resigned to the fact that her work wasn't done yet.

"K," he said, sharing in her sadness. "But I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course," she answered, perking up a bit. "I can't wait."

It felt as if they were winding down, so Will interjected with his thoughts before he could be cut off. "Alicia, is there anything I need to know?"

"No," she replied in surprise.

"Ok, bad question. I don't know how to be anything but a lawyer. A long time ago, we talked about a plan. Do we still need a plan?" he asked.

Alicia sighed as she said, "Yes, we do, but not tonight. Not on the phone. For tonight, I'm yours. Can we figure out the details later?"

"Sure, not a problem," he said. "And we're keeping this between us for now?" his question wore an expectant tone.

Alicia snickered into her end of the phone. "Sure, just you, me and Diane."

"Right," Will said, awkwardly.

"But yes, let's let the campaign wrap up however it wraps up and then I'll start facing the tough conversations."

"I'm sorry, Alicia. I know what this means for you. I hope you know you won't be alone."

"Thank you, Will," she answered, touched by his words. Silence fell into their conversation for several moments. They didn't want to let go of one another. "I guess I should tell you goodnight," Alicia finally said.

"Yeah, probably." Will answered. "Good night Alicia, I love you."

"Good night. I love you too." She ended the call and gazed out the window, seeing nothing of Chicago through the clear glass pane.

***  
The next day, they were all buried in a whirlwind of legal activity. They reached a break on their end of the case and were shuffling things around to make it fit into their arguments. It had been a hurried morning, and Alicia had never made it home before she found herself back in court, standing beside a showered and somewhat rested Will and Diane.

They argued their points and Patti threw in her wrenches where she could. Peter was called in to testify, and Alicia knew he was probably pacing somewhere in the building. She'd been surprised not to find Peter at the campaign office when she arrived. She found Zach there instead. She and Zach and Eli had comprised a plan. Alicia had left Eli in the heat of a horror flick marathon as she rushed out to keep fighting their battles. She actually hadn't seen Peter since she made her decision, and she was a bit relieved. Though she planned to wait until the results were in to tell him the truth, she wasn't looking forward to letting him down.

As court was recessed yet again, Alicia checked her phone to find several missed calls from Grace. She left the courtroom in search of a quiet place to call Grace back. Will filtered out into the hallway, only to find himself locking eyes with Peter. He gave Peter a slight nod, and turned to walk the other way. Will was surprised to hear Peter approach behind him and say quietly, as if through clenched teeth, "We need to talk."

Will acquiesced and followed Peter away from the crowd. He leaned against the frame of the window and waited for what Peter had to say.

"I heard you had an encounter with Alicia last night," Peter began. It was obvious that it was taking him a tremendous amount of effort to keep calm.

Will said nothing, but waited for Peter to make whatever demand he'd come here to make.

"I don't know what you're up to, Gardner," he used Will's surname as if it were a swear word, "but back off." Peter's eyes flared with anger. "She's my wife!" Peter twirled his wedding ring on his finger as he declared, "I won't give her up without a fight."

Will gave the situation a minute, a dramatic pause, just as he would in court. "Then punch me," he said, as if he didn't care. And he really didn't care. He would take a beating, give a beating, anything for Alicia.

Peter stared into his eyes for a long time. Will was waiting for the promised punch to be delivered. He didn't flinch, didn't break eye contact, didn't move. Peter's eyes flicked back and forth between Will's eyes for another moment before he abruptly walked away. Will turned to look in the direction Peter was going, afraid Alicia might be in his path, but there was no one there. He'd given up, at least for now. Will breathed a sigh of relief, and went in search of Alicia to deliver a warning.

***  
Alicia stepped off of the elevator into the hallway of the hotel the campaign had taken over. She was relieved to finally have gotten in a shower and a change of clothes. Now dressed as the wife of the potential governor, election night was next on her to-do list. They had won their case and had the tainted votes thrown out of the election. That was a good thing, but Alicia feared this would be a long night. The race was close, and it could very well be that they wouldn't have a concrete result tonight. She hadn't really slept the night before, and the prospect of facing another sleepless night was daunting.

Alicia mingled as she should, but there was a pit in her stomach. Will had told her about his conversation with Peter back at court. When Peter had testified, he hadn't looked at her once during the proceedings. When it was announced that Peter was arriving at the celebration, she stepped away from the crowded room. Locating a spare room, she seated herself on the bed and awaited his arrival. She wasn't sure if he would seek her out before attending to the rest of the guests, but she knew she didn't want to have to fake a relationship with an angry Peter right now.

Her anticipation grew as she waited. She couldn't bring herself to do anything to pass the time. She just wanted to get this over with, but there was no consideration for her needs in this situation. The night was Peter's, and he would use it how he wanted.

Finally, she heard his voice and realized he was making his way back here, probably in search of her. He'd been caught by someone as he exited the room where the party had taken over. She stood nervously and slowly walked toward the entrance to the room. For just a second, she was back at their last election night celebration, walking out of a room not unlike this one, and hearing news that broke her heart for a second time. She shook her head, banishing those memories from her mind.

Peter stepped into her sight, and they had a silent understanding. He knew something was up. He wasn't going to pretend that he didn't. They approached each other awkwardly, and Alicia reached out to grab Peter's upper arm. "You doing ok?" she asked lightly.

He held her by the elbows, bringing his hands lightly up her arms to rest on her shoulders as he said, "I'm great." Alicia could tell that he wasn't, but that he was trying.

She stared into his eyes a moment, determining where to take this. Discerning that she couldn't fake it, not with all of the anticipation and no sleep, she said, "I heard about what happened today."

Peter didn't say anything. His expression stayed the same. He just waited for her to continue.

"Peter," she said, letting out a soft sigh, "Will is in love with me and I love him too." There it was. The truth, like a bullet, piercing the air between them.

A pause hung in the air for a moment and Alicia's heart thundered in her ears, wondering what he would do. Would he get angry? Violent? Would he make a scene?

She watched in disbelief as Peter just closed his eyes and whispered, "I know." When he opened his eyes, he gave her a slight nod and released her from his grasp. He stepped aside, and waved his hand to gesture that he would let her go. His expression told her everything. His eyes revealed his pain, but she was moved that he had reached this understanding. Every discussion they'd ever had about Will had been heated, anger and accusations thrown around like darts. And now, when he had reason for anger, he was mature and calm and restrained.

Alicia leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek before leaving the room. She would make herself scarce. She would let him have his glory, and later they would figure out what came next. For now, all that mattered was that he understood. With that hurdle jumped, she slipped into a quiet corner and pulled out her phone to text Will. "Have I told you lately that I love you?"


End file.
